No Child of Mine
by Ruby Louise
Summary: No matter how hard you try to prevent it, you can't stop a child of pirate blood from turning to the sea...
1. Swimming

Please read and review ( Disclaimer: I don't own PotC, or any of the characters except for Louise.  
  
On the shores of Port Royal, a young girl of no more than five years old watched the navy ships fade into the sunset. Her dark curls fell to her shoulders, framing her curious face. Her dark eyes, well beyond her years, reflected a thousand thoughts, wishes and dreams. Raising a small hand, she reached towards the boats, longing. Longing to be part of the sea.  
  
In the village, there was uproar. It was common knowledge the Governor Swann's grandchild had gone missing and with a reward of sixty gold coins, the town was bustling with people of all classes calling the name of the small child.  
  
'She was asleep in her crib, father!' Elizabeth Swann explained through tears, frantic and desperate to hold her small child. 'I was sitting in the garden, writing a letter and I must have left the door open!'  
  
'She's only small, she won't have got far.' said the Governor, trying to be  
  
reassuring. 'Young Will is arranging a group of men to search every inch of Port Royal. We'll find Lou.'  
  
'What if she's hurt?' Elizabeth wept.  
  
'She'll be fine, Elizabeth. We'll find her.'  
  
Meanwhile, the tiny figure of Louise Turner had no idea of the frantic chaos that lay behind her. All she knew was what lay in front of her, the sea. A tiny black dot had appeared on the horizon. She had not seen that ship before.edging forwards, keen for a better look, Lou tumbled forwards into the water. Another child might have cried at finding themselves cold and wet, but on the contrary - she laughed.  
  
'Swimming.' She announced proudly, splashing around.  
  
The tide carried her further in and she giggled with delight, not caring a moment for her wet clothes and hair. She scrambled around, trying to stand but found her feet touched only water. She was out of her depth.  
  
'Oh!' she exclaimed as she found the tide forcing her further out. What had Mummy told her about going too far into the sea?  
  
'Naughty sea!' Scolded Lou crossly as she found herself being pushed further and further away from the bay, fighting the water.  
  
It wasn't long before Lou became sleepy and exhausted from the effort of keeping afloat. Slowly, she slipped into slumber .if she hadn't been so light, she might have drowned - but fate needed Louise Turner. Perhaps that was why she floated on the water, dreaming happily of 'swimming' and boats as she drifted closer and closer to the ship with Black Sails on the Horizon. 


	2. Aboard the Black Pearl

Aboard the Black Pearl.  
  
'We won't be landin' at this port gentl'men .' laughed the man, clearly the captain.  
  
'And lady!' objected Annamaria, adjusting a rope on the side of the boat.  
  
'Aye, and lady,' bowed the Captain.  
  
'Ye're mad, Jack.Cap'n.why we not be stoppin' at this Port? Tis mighty full of loot!'  
  
'Ahh.but also full of mem'ries.dangerous things.'  
  
He paused, and for a moment you could sense laughter in his deep brown eyes.  
  
'Aye.' winked Mr. Gibbs. 'Another one of ye're reservations for the gallows, be it, Jack?'  
  
Jack said nothing, but gazed to the familiar shores. It had been nearly five years since he had helped his friend Will rescue Elizabeth - nearly five years since had escaped from the gallows. He didn't expect they'd be overjoyed to see him again.nor would Elizabeth's father, or Commodore Norrington.  
  
'Aaark! Below there be mischief, below there be mischief!' came the sudden noise of Mr. Cotton's parrot as it peered over the side of the boat.  
  
'What are ye talkin' of?' asked Jack, peering down. In the water he could see a small child, floating on the water as if it was a bed.  
  
'It be a child, a child in the water!' said Mr. Gibbs. The crew watched the child for a moment as she slept then Annamaria came to her senses.  
  
'Someone climb down and get it,' she said.  
  
'Aye, then, Annamaria. Off ye go!' Jack pushed her towards the side of the boat.  
  
'Not me,' she said. 'I got to fix this hole here or we'll all be drowned!'  
  
Sighing deeply and muttering something about 'bloomin' useless crews' Jack edged down the side of the boat and lifted the child from the water. It was soaked through, and definitely seemed to be sleeping - not dead. He climbed up, holding it in his arms and handed it expectantly to Annamaria.  
  
'There,' he said, thrusting it into her arms.  
  
'I not be wantin' it!' she replied, handing it back.  
  
'Well it was you who wanted it from the water!' Jack objected, forcing the child into his arms.  
  
'Well.ye got it, so it's yours!' Annamaria tossed it back.  
  
The child opened it's eyes, disturbed by being thrown and the crew stepped back quickly, as if expecting it to attack.  
  
She wiped her eyes sleepily, looked around - then laughed.  
  
'What's it laughing at?' whispered Jack suspiciously, bending down to see it more closely.  
  
The child reached up and pulled Jack's beard. He leapt back in shock, 'it's a little demon! It tried to take off me beard!'  
  
'Silly man!' Lou giggled approvingly, reaching up to hug him.  
  
'Aaaaah, get back ye devil!' he exclaimed backing away. She got to her feet and toddled towards him. The crew fled to the cabins.  
  
'Don't be a fool, Jack, it only be a child.' Annamaria turned to the child.  
  
'Who are ye?' she asked it.  
  
'Lou,' she replied, pointing proudly at herself.  
  
'Me - Captain Jack Sparrow' Jack pointed at himself, Tarzan-style. 'Why you' (he pointed to her) 'in water?' (he pointed to the sea).  
  
'Swimming!' Giggled Lou, reaching up to grab Jack's beard.  
  
'She must be from Port Royal,' Jack mused.  
  
'Who be your parents, child?' asked Annamaria.  
  
'Mummy and Daddy.' Said Lou, looking slightly forlorn. 'Where are Mummy and Daddy? Come swimming!!'  
  
'We have to take it back!' said Annamaria as it lunged to hug Jack again.  
  
Jack picked her up and she screamed with laughter. 'Ahh..no.it be harmless. Look!' He turned the child towards Annamaria and it bared it's teeth jokingly.  
  
'Well.almost,' Jack grinned.  
  
'No.we have to give it back to it's parents!'  
  
'It probably don't have any, Anna.' Jack protested, setting the child on it's feet and holding it's hand. 'And I told ye.I can't go back to Port Royal.'  
  
'Then what shall we do with it? Put it back in the sea?' 'It'd drown!' Objected Jack as the child toddled towards the steering wheel of the boat.  
  
'We can't keep a baby on the ship!' Annamaria ridiculed.  
  
'Aww.but it be a pirate, already.look at it!' The child was attempting to turn the wheel. Jack caught her just in time.  
  
'You look somewhat familiar,' Jack informed her as she stubbornly clung on to the wheel. 'I know those eyes.'  
  
'Eyes!' Lou comprehended and reached up, nearly poking Jack's eye in.  
  
'Welcome to the Black Pearl, Miss.' Jack mock-bowed to her as Annamaria sighed. 'Ye be a pirate now!'  
  
'Pirates!' called Lou as Jack tied a bandana around her head. 'Pirates!' 


	3. The Rum and the Ribbon

Jack Sparrow sat casually on the deck of the Black Pearl, swirling some rum round in a cup. Lou looked at the rum for a while then asked him curiously 'fly taste good?'  
  
'It's not fly, me darlin'.it's rum.' Corrected Jack, taking a swig of it.  
  
Lou just giggled at him.  
  
'Ye're a strange demon, luv.' He muttered to her, swirling around the rum in the cup and drinking the last of it. It was then that the fly caught his eye, floating - drowned in the cup.  
  
'Eeeurgh!' he exclaimed throwing down the cup.  
  
'Fly taste good?' repeated Lou innocently.  
  
'Why, ye little.' began Jack, but he was interrupted by Annamaria.  
  
'Jack, we're headed for Mortis Island, what be the bearings?'  
  
Jack directed her as she turned the steering wheel.  
  
'Ye can't be serious, Jack.' murmured Mr. Gibbs. 'We ain't goin' after more cursed treasure.'  
  
'No, definitely uncursed this time.' Jack assured him.  
  
'What makes ye say that?' asked Mr. Gibbs suspiciously.  
  
'Why it'll make us rich, of course.that's no curse!'  
  
Mr. Gibbs mumbled something under his breath which made Lou erupt into another fit of giggles.  
  
'Silly man,' she chuckled appreciatively.  
  
'Mr. Turner! Mr. Turner I think I've found somethin'!' Mr. Hardworth the carpenter called as he crouched over near the sea at the dock of Port Royal.  
  
'What have you found?' came the urgent, concerned reply from Will Turner as he rushed to join Mr. Hardworth.  
  
Mr Hardworth rose, something tiny held in the palm of his hand.it was a small ribbon, similar the one that Elizabeth often tied in his daughter's hair.  
  
'This belongs to your daughter?' asked Mr. Hardworth eagerly as Will took it from him.  
  
'Where did you find this?' asked Will anxiously.  
  
'Just floating in the sea.' replied Mr. Hardworth, his voice trailing off into nothing.  
  
'The sea.' Will repeated in a whisper full of horror. In his mind he saw a tiny child carried off in the tide, struggling against the water.drowning.  
  
'Will! Oh, Will, what is it?'  
  
Elizabeth tore down towards where he was standing, forlornly - holding something tight in his hand. He opened his palm to reveal the ribbon.  
  
'Louise's ribbon.' he whispered. 'It was.in the sea.'  
  
The two of them looked out towards the endless, depthless ocean of where their daughter had been and without a further word, Elizabeth collapsed - weeping into her husband's arms. 


	4. The Darkness Awakens

Thankyou so much for your review, ping*pong5!!! This is my first fanfic so your reviews mean loads to me guys :) It's nice to know someone is reading the story! So, thanks to your review, here's a new chapter!  
  
Louise woke in the darkness, murmuring 'rum.' sleepily as she rubbed her eyes. She was calmed by the softly rocking ship and the gentle light of the silver moon high in the inky canvas above. The deck appeared deserted, except for Jack Sparrow who was sitting back in his chair, his eyes closed.  
  
'The silly man is asleep,' thought Lou as she approached and peered at him. His mouth was open slightly and he mumbled something which sounded something like 'bad eggs'.  
  
'Eggs for breakfast?' Lou inquired, poking him.  
  
Jack grunted and turned over, and Lou - dismissing him as the 'silly man' reached for the cup in his hand. It was almost empty, there were just a few drops of rum at the bottom.  
  
'Where's the fly?' she asked herself, swirling around the cup as Jack had done. 'Where are you, fly?'  
  
No dead insect emerged, so Lou, almost disappointed sipped the drink. She pulled a face, disliking the bitter taste. She poured the last drop over Jack's face and he mumbled something which sounded like 'rum', but slept on.  
  
Growing bored, Lou wandered to the side of the boat where the moon-lit waters were unusually still.  
  
'Splash!' declared Lou as she dropped a used rum bottle into the waters. There was a small ripple, then all was still again.  
  
'I'm hungry,' she complained. 'Where's Mummy?'  
  
There was no reply, just the noise of Jack's snores.  
  
'Splash!' repeated Lou, looking for something else to throw.  
  
A small glint of gold from Jack Sparrow's boot attracted her eyes. It was a soft flicker but enchanting to Louise's eyes.  
  
'Gold,' she murmured in awe as she extracted a gold chain from the boot. She held it in her hands, looking as if she had found some incredible hidden treasure. The glow of the chain lit up her young face and her mesmerised eyes. She looked like a young phantom, almost glowing.  
  
Lou had almost forgotten her purpose, so enchanted had she been by the chain. However her child-like mind quickly remembered what the chain was for. 'Splash,' she whispered to it carefully, approaching the edge of the boat. Not wanting to let her treasure go too quickly, Lou held one end of it and lowered it down into the water. It made a reflection in the water like a gold serpent. Leaning a little further, as she allowed the edge of the chain to dip in the water, a strange noise suddenly filled her ears - it sounded like singing.. Lou gasped, clinging to the chain and her eyes widened as she listened to the haunting song,  
  
'Back in the times, of misty pasts  
  
And long lost waters sailed  
  
I had a ship and mighty mast  
  
Which mystery entailed  
  
I only strove to gain the gold  
  
The treasures of the sea  
  
Yet little did I really know  
  
The treasure would be me  
  
The sea took back what I did gain  
  
It tore my ship with waves  
  
My crew, they fell to depths below  
  
With no chance to be saved  
  
My gold was sunk, my loot was lost  
  
Returned to sandy bed  
  
And most of all, the greatest cost  
  
The sea wanted me dead  
  
And so I sank to icy depths  
  
The water was my tomb  
  
And so I rotted with my loot  
  
Decayed in darkened gloom  
  
Yet now I rise, my gold sees light  
  
My lifeless eyes awaken  
  
Yet now that you have took the gold  
  
Your own life must be taken  
  
You will find out, as once I did  
  
You pay a price to steal  
  
So now as my gold touches water  
  
You must believe it's real  
  
The sea's revenge will wait in you  
  
Until it's time is done  
  
Then say your very last goodbye  
  
For your life will be gone.'  
  
A strange shiver moved the chain as the song died into silence and Lou felt her eyes burn. Falling back, the chain fell onto the deck - but not before the sea's revenge had seeped into her mind and soul.  
  
'Lou, darlin'?' Jack's voice questioned sleepily as she turned to face him, rubbing her eyes.  
  
What he saw made him jerk out of his sleepy state. Wide awake, he stared at her - the playful light in her eyes had been extinguished and her face was narrowed into such a bloodthirsty expression, he froze in his seat.  
  
Then as quickly as it had happened, it ended. Lou's eyes became bright and her curious, puzzled expression resumed itself on her young face. The revenge was not ready. It would not strike yet. It would wait till the time, should come.then it would reclaim the greatest treasures of all. 


End file.
